USMNT Transfer Watch - Movers and Shakers

Both Makama and Touré are younger and have outproduced him this year.

What a difference like 8 months makes.

 

Getting married and starting a family at such a young age while trying to maintain a career overseas is tough. I wouldn't be surprised if family life has been hampering his game.

 

Pulisic and Pochettino to Tottenham together?

https://www.teamtalk.com/tottenham-...ic-signing-ac-milan-man-utd-liverpool-sources

 

Sounds like the long rumored Pepi to Fulham move may be close.

Het gaat hard de goede kant op met Pepi (en een zomerse transfer naar Fulham is niet heel ver weg). Zie: https://t.co/tsev1EeSou https://t.co/tsev1EeSou

— Rik Elfrink (@RikElfrink) February 13, 2026

"Things are progressing rapidly in the right direction with Pepi (and a summery transfer to Fulham isn't too far off)."

 

I don’t think it’s a step up by going to the Spurs.

 

Pulisic will be in the UCL of he stays with Milan next season.

Spurs will have to win the UCL to be in it next season.

 

Pulisic seems really happy at Milan. I don't know why he'd want to go.

.................but from an early age he'd talked about wanting to play in the Premier League. That was always his dream.

Folks with acute memories will remember that he grew up as a Manchester United fan. That was his boyhood team.

 

I’m guessing he’d also get paid much more at Tottenham or any EPL team.

 

We'll see.

Pulisic isn't currently paid a huge salary as he didn't come to Milan in a position to be.
He's only on about 6.5 million gross pay according to capology. Extremely underpaid all things considered.

He wouldn't have been the highest paid player on a bunch of MLS teams last year.

Milan will have to pay him a lot more to stay. They probably need to make him their highest paid player, which is currently Nkunku.

That salary would also make him about the highest paid player at Spurs.

Spurs aren't known for paying top dollar in the Premier League in terms of salaries. Compared to the big boys, anyway.

I don't know why he'd leave Milan for Spurs. Liverpool or ManU? OK. I can see the money being too much to turn down if they submit an offer. And he was a boyhood ManU fan. Wayne Rooney was his favorite player if I remember correctly. If ManU makes the Champions League, I can see it...................

 

I thought Luis Figo was his favorite player.

 

We're both right.
Christian Pulisic says Man Utd used to have a player he absolutely ‘loved’

When asked to name his football idol growing up, Pulisic told CBS Sports: “Between Wayne Rooney and Luis Figo were my two football idols. Yeah.”

Lots of articles of Pulisic talking about his admiration for Rooney.
Christian Pulisic: Wayne Rooney an inspiration, U.S. needs permanent coach - ESPN

 

Purely in soccer terms, if he moved, it needs to be a visible step up. Liverpool and resurgent Man U are that. Beyond that, stay at AC Milan.

If Tottenham throws a boatload of cash at him, and he accepted, Id be bummed but understand. It would need to be some serious bank though because Pulisic already showed once moving from Chelsea to AC Milan that its not all about money, so that is encouraging.

 

I get Rooney, but Figo's kind of weird, you usually expect idols to be more time specifically relevant, but Figo's prime was largely what, 1995 to 2002/2003ish, and Pulisic was like -2, to like 5ish during that era. Wonder if his dad just recorded games on VCR or whatever, because by the time he was in Kindergarten Figo was what, 31? Kinda odd. I hope he stays in Italy as well, why leave Milan for England again? It would need to be an ideal situation in my view and that would be pretty hard to put together.

 

He may have watched Figo against Mexico in 2006 and thought that's the way he wants to play.

 

This rumor isn't going away................
Christian Pulisic to welcome international teammate? Milan opens talks with Weston McKennie, and USMNT winger and Massimiliano Allegri’s influence could prove decisive - World Soccer Talk

Weston McKennie has emerged as a surprise target for Milan as the club explores potential midfield reinforcements after the 2026 World Cup. With his contract situation unresolved and his market value rising, speculation is intensifying over a possible move that could reshape both his career and Milan’s midfield structure. In the background, two familiar figures could quietly influence the decision, Christian Pulisic and Massimiliano Allegri, adding a compelling narrative to what could become one of the most intriguing transfer sagas of the upcoming window.

What's amazing about this whole thing is McKennie only earns about 3 million a year at Juve right now. Their contract offer to him apparently was around 4.7 million for 3 years (These are figures in this column and elsewhere. Reality may be a little different.). It all seems really lowball to me based on his performance. Jonathan David, who's been a real disappointment with Juve, makes nearly 15 million in gross pay. You can understand why Weston still hasn't signed on the dotted line. Think of those salaries in the context of MLS. Brandon Vazquez and Walker Zimmerman were on similar salaries in 2025 to Weston McKennie at Juventus.

Is it possible that FC Dallas, owned by one of the richest families in America, is offering Weston McKennie a salary better than Juventus and AC Milan'? In 2026? Yes, it certainly is. We heard Dallas is interested. And Dallas, for some reason, hasn't filled its DP spot. What a World we live in...............

 

David seems to be finally settling in with 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 6.

Weston's agent should take a big offer from MLS into any negotiations. I'm sure he'd make $8M+ as a DP.

 

Why head to MLS when big clubs are circling his name? He could arguably be seen as one of the faces of Juventus going forward should he extend with them and go on to be a club legend.

 

He’s saying McKennie’s agent should use a big MLS offer as leverage. Juve would probably say “okay, bye” though.

 

In regards to Weston:

This is just the economic realities of Club Football outside of the EPL, Saudi Pro League, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSG. Juve likely hasn't extended a lucrative contract extension because they haven't secured Champions League Football yet. There's an immense economic difference between making the UCL and the EL/CL.

It's also why MLS is becoming increasingly popular for younger players looking to advance their careers. They get paid more at a younger age, plus the competition is good, and a good portion of teams are willing to allow a future move if desired.

One other important, often overlooked factor, MLS checks hit the bank account in full and on time. Outside of the EPL, Bundesliga, top of La Liga, top of Serie A, top of Ligue 1, that's not always the case. Just ask Reggie Cannon.

 

FWIW they are not the same team under Clement that they were earlier this year, including when Josh was the league's player of the month, and he was doing that by himself.

If he had been healthy/not burnt bridges I have not doubt he'd be scoring goals. They have been controlling games and generating a lot of chances lately.

 

My comment was not "Josh sucks" at all but how quickly some of these situations change. Last year, Norwich referred to him as their MVP and he was considered one of the better players in the Championship.

Now, he's not playing and has become replaceable.

I do disagree with one thing -- I don't think he was "doing that by himself." If nothing else, this last year demonstrates that Josh is a good player but not a difference maker in that sense. He's been replaced because he is replaceable. That doesn't mean he's bad, but he's not creating a lot of this. He's a part of it and likely got too much credit because he was at the end of the chain. Like a lot of strikers.

 

I didn't say he should move to MLS. But a big offer from MLS would help him in negotiations.

 

If I’m not mistaken he was speaking about using those big offers from MLS to reinforce his bargaining position. As far as juve is concerned a competing offer is just a competing offer. The fewer options that he has, the less power he has. As far as juve (or any other team) is concerned, MLS is an option…whether or not McKennie actually sees it as an option

 

They may not match it but they might raise their offer in hopes that the prestige etc of juve and la liga will tip the scales in their favor. Either way, it would be stupid for the agent not to use it as leverage…as you say

 

That makes sense to us but Juve doesn't splash the cash very often and apparently only on forwards who aren't very good.